Allen, Hoo Selected on Final Day of Major League Baseball Draft

Jun 07, 2014

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Third baseman Jimmy Allen and catcher Chris Hoo, both seniors, became Cal Poly's fifth and sixth players drafted in the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, which concluded a three-day run Saturday at the MLB Network studios in Secaucus, N.J.

Allen was chosen in the 24th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 729th player selected, while Hoo went in the 27th round, picked by the Miami Marlins as the 797th overall pick.

A total of 1,215 players were selected in the 40-round draft.

On Thursday, the first day of the MLB Draft, Cal Poly junior southpaw Matt Imhof was the sixth selection in the second round, 47th overall, by the Philadelphia Phillies. He became Cal Poly's third-highest draft choice ever and the fifth Mustang to be chosen in the second round or higher.

On the second day of the draft Friday, outfielders Nick Torres and Zack Zehner along with closer Reed Reilly, all juniors on Cal Poly's Big West Conference championship team, were selected.

Torres was taken in the fourth round by the San Diego Padres while Zehner was chosen by the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh round. Torres was the 117th overall selection while Zehner was No. 204. Reilly was the 224th overall choice, drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the seventh round.

Allen (5-11, 190, Vista, CA/Rancho Buena Vista HS) started his final 183 games as a Mustang, including the last 174 at third base. He finished his senior campaign with a .298 average with 13 doubles, three triples and six home runs. Allen knocked in 39 runs -- his RBI triple knocking in the lone run in a 1-0 win over UC Santa Barbara on April 6.

Allen recorded 23 multiple-hit games and eight multiple-RBI contests. He went 10-for-22 during Cal Poly's six-game week March 11-16 against Northern Illinois and Wagner, lifting his average 60 points, and was 6-for-14 in the Big West title-clinching series at Cal State Northridge with three home runs, five RBI and six runs scored.

Allen hit .299 in his junior season with 12 doubles, two triples and one home run with 39 RBI. In the last two weeks, he went 13-for-23 (.565) with two doubles and six RBI. Allen hit .345 in his sophomore campaign en route to first-team All-Big West honors, producing 20 doubles, four triples, three home runs and 44 RBI.

Allen was drafted for the third time Saturday. He was selected by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 39th round out of high school and the Boston Red Sox drafted him in the 23rd round a year ago, Allen electing to return to Cal Poly for his final campaign.

Named Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year last week, Hoo led the conference by throwing out 21 runners trying to steal as well as by picking off seven other base runners. He allowed just one passed ball this season and committed only one error in 516 fielding chances. In addition, Cal Poly pitchers threw just 29 wild pitches this season, two more than the school Division I record for fewest wild pitches in a season.

At the plate. Hoo hit .301 with 13 doubles, two triples, one home run and 37 RBI. He struck out only 20 times in 228 plate appearances and made 55 starts behind the plate.

A total of 33 Mustangs have been drafted in the first 10 rounds since the first MLB Draft in 1965, including 24 players since Larry Lee took over as head coach of the program in 2003. A total of 58 Cal Poly players coached by Lee have been drafted, including 53 in the last 10 years.

One of Cal Poly's eight early signees in November, pitcher Logan Webb of Rocklin High School, was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the fourth round Friday. He was 4-3 with an 0.49 ERA in his senior season, striking out 73 batters in 57 2/3 innings, and also hit .337 with 28 RBI.

Catcher John Orton is Cal Poly's highest draft pick ever, chosen by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as the 25th overall selection in the first round in 1987. Outfielder Mitch Haniger was the 38th overall pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2012 and Imhof moved past southpaw Garrett Olson, who was selected 48th overall by the Baltimore Orioles in 2005.

Both Haniger and Olson were compensatory picks between the first and second rounds. Cal Poly's only other second-round selection besides Imhof is outfielder Grant Desme, taken by the Oakland Athletics as the 74th overall selection in 2005.

Cal Poly finished the 2014 season 47-12 overall, capturing its first Big West Conference championship and earning its third NCAA Division I regional berth in six years, hosting the San Luis Obispo Regional. The Mustangs, who have posted 12 winning seasons since 2000, won 40 games for the fourth time in school history, with the 47 victories an all-time school record.